Being an LDS Runner

Hello!

This morning, I did a school visit! At BYU! In front of a class of creative writers!

It was exciting. I always love talking to groups, and since this one was a group of young adults who want to write, I had the ability to talk to them in "writerly" terms and really talk about process with them. They had excellent questions. One of which I'm still trying to figure out an answer to:

How do you keep yourself from writing the same character into every story?

Great question. The answer I gave was something along the lines of, "I treat characters like different people, and every different situation requires a different kind of hero," but I'm not sure I like that answer. I typically don't like answers that boil down to, "My characters are real to me and they talk to me like real people," because those answers sound crazy and aren't very helpful.

Too bad so many situations in writing come down to that kind of answer: I don't know how I can do this, but it works so I don't question it.

I have another school visit this Friday and I'm super-excited! Will keep you posted on developments.

As for other things happening in my life, I am getting further in the marathon training. Last Saturday, I ran 20 miles. I have a few more super-long runs before race day. Here's the thing about super-long runs: you have lots of time to think. LOTS of time. So I did, and one of the things I thought about was the unique experience I have being LDS (Mormon) and a runner.

It is unique. There's a culture to running, and there's an LDS culture and set of values, and sometimes they overlap/clash. Frankly, I think it's funny. So here's a set of behaviors unique to the LDS runner:

- Making stink-face and passing by when I see that the free gel/goo on a long race is caffeinated (NOTE: This is a little bit of a cheat. Caffeine isn't outlawed for LDS people, but my family avoids it, so I do too, and thus it makes the list.)

- Altering training schedules so they don't require Sunday runs

- Searching for races that AREN'T on Sunday

- Looking ahead to see if the next Fast Sunday (a day we go without eating) is the day after a rare Saturday race, and being relieved when it isn't

- Being super-disappointed that the Disney Park marathons are typically on Sundays

- Trying to figure out the modest/comfortable running clothing balance

- Throwing away the "free post-race beer" ticket that comes in the swag pack

- For once, not being the only one in the area totally obsessed with chocolate milk

These are based on my experience, and while they are true for me, they may not be true for all LDS runners. I'd be interested in other people's experience. If anyone out there is LDS and a runner, comment with any others that I might have missed!